Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / The DiCecco Daily: Key Matchups To Watch For Eagles Vs. Commanders

Transcript

The DiCecco Daily: Key Matchups To Watch For Eagles Vs. Commanders · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's happened? Everybody? Welcome into another edition of the
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: check O Deli.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: Andrew Decheco here Eagles beat reporter for insidethebirds dot Com.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: The Eagles play the Commanders on Saturday. Kickoff set for
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: five o'clock at Northwest Stadium, and it's an interesting game
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: because the Commanders don't have anything to play for, but
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: they have the potential to play spoiler in this one,
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: though that's not the way that I see it. I
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: think the Eagles are hitting their stride at the right time.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: They've shown some positive signs offensively that I certainly think
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: that they can build off of. But let's get before
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: we start to get into that, let's start by going
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: over the official game status which we now have and
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: out for this game, and it should be no surprise.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Defensive tackle Jalen Carter's shoulders and tackle Lane Johnson foot questionable,
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: tight end slash fullback Cameron Latsu stinger and tackle Cameron
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: Williams shoulder. Now, for those curious about the official practice
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: report from Thursday, not practicing, defensive tackle Jalen Carter shoulders
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: and tackle Lane Johnson foot full go running back sa
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: Kwon Barkley stinger, linebacker's act bond hand, running back Tank
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: Bigsby illness, guard Landon Dickerson calf, rest, tackle, Fred Johnson ankle,
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: tight end Cameron Lattu stinger, outside linebacker, Jalen Phillips knee, tackle,
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: Cameron Williams shoulder. So there you have it. The Eagles
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: are remarkably healthy at this point in the season. And
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: I've said this before and I'll say it again. It's
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: a testament to the doctors, the athletic training staff, and
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: so many other people behind the scenes, and of course
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: the coaching the coaching staff for knowing how to push
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: all the right buttons and doctor a practice schedule that's
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: going to be both beneficial to the players and optimize
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: their health, but also be able to maximize the work
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: if they're able to put in on a lot of
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: these shortened weeks that the Eagles have had.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: And so this week's no exception.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: It was a truncated one and they will play Saturday,
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: but the Commanders will be without left tackle Laramie Tunsel
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: and that's a big loss for them. So they're going
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: to have Brandon Coleman likely start at left tackle. Then
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: on the right side, you'll have Josh Connerly right guard,
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: it will be Chris Paul left guard, Sam Cosmy, and
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: sener Tyler Biadas, who you may remember from his time
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: with the Dallas Cowboys. Sam Cosmy is a nice player,
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Chris Paul is someone who is incredibly strong but raw,
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: And I like Josh Connolly coming out of Oregon. But
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: I think you like the matchup with that the Eagles
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: edge rushers are going to have against both Brandon Coleman
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: and Josh Connerly. I think Jalen Phillips is going to
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: have a pretty big game. Jay loox Hunt leads the
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: Eagles in pressures and sacks from the edge rusher position.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: He's playing really good football right now.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: And Nolan Smith picked up a sack against the Raiders
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: and he's no longer on a pitch count as Vic
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: Fangio totasaw and the snap share suggests that. I mean,
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: jay loox Hunt played twenty five snaps against the Raiders,
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Nolan Smith played twenty six, Jalen Phillips played thirty, So
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: I like that match up. Now from the interior perspective,
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: I'm curious to see how the Eagles defensive line matches
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: up with a Washington offensive line that when they're fully healthy,
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: they're not that bad. They're actually pretty solid. And I
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: just mentioned the interior with Chris Paul, Tyler, Biadas, and
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Sam Cosmy. So it'll be Jordan Davis, Moro Jomo, Brandon Graham,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Byron Young in.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: A little bit of Tyroneinson. I imagine that.
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: Are going to get the snaps from the from the interior,
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: and I like that matchup, especially for Moro Jomo, who's
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: just so quick and uses leverage well to his advantage
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: to get under the pad level of opposing guards, and
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: he's explosive off the ball.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: That will be something that I'm certainly keeping an eye on.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: A big loss in this game and for the rest
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: of the season for the Commander's tight end zach Ertz,
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: who suffered a really nasty injury a season ender a
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: couple of weeks ago. So their tight ends are Ben Sinnett,
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: second year player out of Kansas State, who's going to
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: mostly fulfill that zach Ertz role, and then there's John Bates,
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: who is one of the better blocking tight ends in
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: the NFL. But to not have zach Ertz, who was
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: having a really strong year and a security blanket for
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: Marcus Mariota and Jade and Daniels when he was there.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: The Commanders shut down Jayden Daniels for the season. I
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: don't necessarily view it as them punting on season as
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: much as it is trying to.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: Ensure the health of their star quarterback.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: But Marcus Mariota is interesting because I look at his
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: ability to elude pressure and pick up yards on design
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: quarterback runs and when this Eagles defense, as good as
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: they've been, whenever they have had some sticking points, it's
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: been against quarterbacks who were mobile. You look at Patrick
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: Mahomes in Week two, Jackson Dart, Justin Herbert certainly, who
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: was able to pick up a lot of yards with
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: his legs late in that game in LA and the
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: Chargers weren't able to move the football outside of that,
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: so they probably had no business winning that game, even
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: with the Eagles committing five turnovers.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: But this will be a good test.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: They face Marcus Mariota two of the last three weeks
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: of the season, so it's good to kind of fine
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: tune that area of their game because that, to me,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: has been their only deficiency. And they have Josh Allen
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: as well, who we all know is very capable of
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: damaging teams with his legs and creating yards there. So
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: it's gonna be a really good test. I think for
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: this Egles defense. It's probably flying a little bit under
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: the radar. And to be fair, a lot of the
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: quarterbacks that they're going to face in the postseason, whether
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: it's Sam Darnold, whether it's Matthew Stafford, Jordan La Caleb Williams,
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: might be the one who poses the biggest threat in
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: terms of picking up yards with his legs. But you
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: can quickly see that it's not going to be something
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: that's going to be as common of a theme as
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: the Eagles have seen this year, but it's something that
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: I'll certainly be keeping an eye on. I do think
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: that their secondary is exploitable. I look at Mike Samers,
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: still their corner from Michigan. I think he has four
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: interceptions on the year. Highly intelligent player. I'm a big
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: fan of his game, but he's not having a particularly
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: good season. Jonathan Jaz on the other side there they
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: have Kwan Martin one of the safeties. I think that
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: this is going to be a game that the Eagle
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: should be able to exploit. This secondary and I'm looking
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: to see if they're able to kind of continue to
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: build off of some of those concepts that I think
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: have been an encouraging sign of an offense taking a
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: step forward against the Chargers and the Raiders more under center.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: They're under center thirty times against the Raiders, there was
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: thirteen personnel, eighteen snaps, fourteen snaps of twelve personnel, two
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: tight ends, and I think that there are tangible signs
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: of an offense sort of turning the corner. And I
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: think it's some of these different wrinkles and implementations that
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: you're seeing that I think is going to lend itself
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: favorably to.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: Conjuring some success on that side of the ball.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: And for Jalen Hurts, the intermediary throws to Dallas Goddard
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: is something that I believe that the team has to
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: continue to revert back to because it's successful and it
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: opens a lot of other things up. It allows you
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: to call plays from the full menu if you will,
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: and throwing inside the numbers and fitting the ball into
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: tight windows. Jalen Hurts as a runner has also been
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: something that I've been looking to see more of now
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: he has suffered injuries in the previous two Decembers, so
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: I understand the maybe reluctance on his end perhaps to
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: not be as apt to pick up yards with his legs,
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: but it is something that I think unlocks a lot
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: of things with the offense, especially the running game, and
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: I imagine in the postseason he'll go to that when
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: he needs to. But it's also important to note that
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: Jalen said no, I'm fine when he had his media availability.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: I guess it was Tuesday.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: Remember he got sort of tackled awkwardly late in that
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: Raiders game before the offense was pulled because of the
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: game was out of hand, and he wasn't on the
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: injury report at all this week, So great sign there,
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: and I go back to the Eagles are really healthy
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: this time of the year now. There's been a lot
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: of fluky games in Landover when the Eagles have played
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: the Commanders, especially of late.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: I think the.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: Game last year may have been the weirdest game I've
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: ever covered as a professional where CJ. Gardner Johnson gets
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: ejected from that game, Jayalen Hurt suffers a concussion early
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: in that game, Kenny Pickett has to step in.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: There was just a lot of really weird.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: Sequencing in that game that you know you didn't It
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: was to the point where after the game you didn't
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: even know where to start. What was the storyline the
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: prominent storyline out of that game, And there was just
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: so many different things that happened, and a lot of
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: it was fluky. But this is a team that could
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: you call the Commanders dangerous in the sense that they
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: have enough playmakers there to play spoiler maybe, But it
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: simply comes.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: Down to the Eagles are the better football team.
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: They are.
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: If you're someone who takes vibes into account, the vibes
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: are high. They are cleaning up some things in terms
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: of penalties and some of those self inflicted wounds that
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: put them behind the sticks, and if they're able to
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: play mistake free in that area or close to it.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: They only had three penalties against the Raiders, which is
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: a sign of improvement if you're able to protect the
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: football and continue to lean into some of the things
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: that they've done in recent weeks.
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: Offensively, Hey, Philly fans, game day is stressful enough. Parking, traffic,
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: long lines, We've all been there, But when it comes
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: to your cannabis, Camden Apothecary makes it easy. This is
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: the dispensary for sports fans, just minutes outside of Philly
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: with plenty of free parking. You'll be in and out fast,
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: no hassle, no waiting, and they don't just care about convenience.
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: Camden Apothecary is all about the guest experience. Their staff
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: makes sure you feel taken care of every time you
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: walk in. Plus, they carry only the best quality cannabis
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: at the fairest prices, so whether you're stocking up for
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: the tailgate, the watch party, or celebrating a big win,
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: you know you're getting the good stuff without overpaying. They
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: even show love to the community with specials for fans, students,
• 11:24
  Speaker 4: service members, and healthcare pros. Cammed Inn Apothecary top quality cannabis,
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: great prices, and an experience made for Philly fans.
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: Twenty one and up. Hey, it's Jeff Mosher and nothing
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: is more important to me than making sure my family
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: is protected, especially when I'm not home. That's why I'm
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: so happy that I have the greatest, most technologically advanced
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: home alert system. It's simply safe. Why are they so
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: great because they stop people from breaking in before they
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: get inside. You gotta forget those old school systems that
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: go off after someone's already in your place. That's too late.
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: But Simply Safe is different. It's proactive. You get a
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: double layer of defense that stops crimes before they start.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: They've got the AI powered.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: Cameras that spot potential threats outside, and then live agents
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: step in and talk to the person through the camera,
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: letting them know they're on video, and police will be
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: dispatch if they don't leave. There's no long term contracts,
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: no hidden fees. You can cancel at any time. It
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: was named the best home security systems by US News
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: and World Report for five years running. You also get
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: a sixty day money back guarantee so you can try
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: it and see the difference for yourself. You won't want
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: to you'll love it, and this month only take fifty
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: percent off any new system. This is one of the
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: best prices you'll ever see for Simply Safe. Don't miss it.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: Hit simplysafe dot com slash birds again. That's Simplysafe dot
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: com slash birds and lock in your discount. There's no
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: safe like Simply Safe. Hey, I still like a good
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: night out, but I'm not always in the mood to drink,
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: and that's why I looked for a great alternative, and
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: I found one. It's called Souls out of office gummies.
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: You get the same light, happy buzz, but you don't
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: have the hangover. There's no sugar, and you don't get
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: that awkward feeling the next morning. They help me unwind
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: and ease into my evening without the alcohol or the
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: next day fog. Soul is a wellness brand that believes
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: feeling good should be fun and easy. Soul specializes in delicious,
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: hempdrived THC and CBD products designed to boost your mood
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: and help you unwind. Their best selling out of office
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: coumanies were designed to provide a mild, relaxing buzz, boost
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: your mood, and enhance your creativity and relaxation. With five
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: different strengths, you can tailor the dose to fit your vibe,
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: from a gentle one point five milligram micro dose to
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: their newest fifteen milligram gummy for a more elevated experience.
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: They've also got a variety of products specifically designed to
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: help you get a better night's rest, including Soul's top
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: selling sleep gummy, a fan favorite for deep restorative sleep
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: so bring on the good vibes and tree yourself to
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: sold today. Right now, sol is offering our audience thirty
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: percent off your entire order. So go to get sold
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: dot com and use the code birds b IRDs that's
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: get sold dot Com promo code birds for thirty percent off.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: I think they're going to be just fine. And they're
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: red zone play calling.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: Kevin Patullo deserves a lot of credit for what he's
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: been able to do, the aggressiveness, the creativity in the
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: red zone, especially utilizing Dallas Goddard. I don't know that
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: he gets enough credit for doing that, but I'm going
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: to give him credit for doing that because I think
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: that that's sort of been an understated aspect of the offense.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: And so yeah, I look at this game and I
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: think the Eagle should win fairly comfortably. It may the
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: Commanders may get generate a little momentum early just because
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: Marcus Mariota. The play's never over when he's your quarterback
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: because of his escapability.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: But I really do.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: Believe that this defense is going to be able to
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: put the clam on them, and then the Eagles offenses
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: should be able to tap into some of those different.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: Some of those different things that we've seen.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: Over the past couple of weeks, and I do believe
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: that they should win fairly comfortably. When the dust settles
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: double digit win in my estimation, it's a hat and
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: a T shirt game. They would be the first team
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: in twenty years in the NFC East to win back
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: to back, and that's something that is interesting to think about.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: But you know, the Eagles don't look at it that way.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: They look at it as the next game on the schedule.
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: It's often referred to as a hat and a T
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: shirt game. They move on and they have the Buffalo
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: Bills upcoming. So there you have it. That's sort of
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: the game.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: My assessment of the game.
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: I gave you the injury report, and yeah, I think
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: the Eagles win this one fairly comfortably and that should
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: quell whatever concerns there may have been after the Raiders game.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: I know there was a lot of yeah, but it
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: was the Raiders. I get that, I understand that. But
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: it's how they beat the Raiders that I feel should
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: be encouraging. If you're an Eagles fan, and if you're listening,
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: presumably you are, that they want in convincing fashion. That's
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: what you want to see. They can only play who's
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: on their schedule, who's in front of them. What they
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: can control is how they put that team away, and
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: they didn't give the Raiders a chance.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: So we'll see. We'll see if that's sort of.
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: If there's a carryover into this week, and I'll have
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: my postgame podcast for you as I always do, but
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: for now, that's going to do it for this edition
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: of The check O Daily. I am Andrew Decheco, and
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: I'll catch you on the next one.